Roundtable Discussion – Expectations & Anticipation

Jason Behler
On September 11, 2013

If you are like me you spent last Sunday sitting in front of the couch paying homage to that golden American idol known as the NFL. The beginning of every season brings anticipation and optimism, and all but one team (real or fantasy) ends the season with disappointment. For fickle Bengals fans like me, all seasons end in disappointment, having never hoisted that coveted Lombardi Trophy. Expectations can be great and they can be devastating: think how bad it hurt when you didn’t get that (real or figurative) Red Rider Beebee Gun for Christmas. This week’s roundtable discussion takes us into the anticipation and expectations of big name beers.

Question: What is the one beer for which you have the most anticipation to try because of what you’ve heard, read, or tasted? And what will this beer have to do to live up to those expectations?

Cory – Rodenbach’s Alexander Flanders Red Ale. Rodenbach is known for their Grand Cru but this beast is supposed to be the one. For this beer to live up to my expectations, it will not have be the best beer in the world. It will just need to be an oaky, cherry-forward, dry Flanders Ale. It will be sessionable with a great nose but an even better mouthfeel and finish.

Tristan – Westy 12- I’ve been wanting to try this ever since the hullabaloo surrounding it’s limited US release last year. For some reason or another I’ve been close to trying it on a few occasions but have missed out every time. This has been my white whale. And while I generally don’t end up liking those high abv syrup-y molasses type beers, I keep hearing great things about this one.

Gabe – Hill Farmstead’s Double Barrel Damon. The first time they age Damon in port and bourbon barrels. It’s going to break my budget and I might have to live in the streets for a while, but I would never miss that beer release. It combines my favorite brewery with my favorite bourbon(VW). I don’t know what it has to do to live up to some expectation because I really don’t know what to expect.

Nick – Drie Fonteinen Framboos – They’ve only made this twice (1999 and 2011), making it one of the more elusive lambics to track down. This is also supposed to be one of the most explosively flavorful fruit lambics featuring raspberries in all their glory, spiked with intense sourness and that yeasty funk my taste buds crave. Considering the cost/difficulty of finding one, I’d hope this would be one of the best sour beers ever to grace my glass in order to meet the ridiculously lofty expectations people bestow upon it.

Scott – Probably Kentucky Breakfast Stout. Never managed to get my hands on one.

Justin – My “white whale” is very similar to Scott, but mine is ever elusive & highly sought CBS, Canadian Break Stout. I expect it will taste very similar to KBS & I doubt I will be able to tell the

difference, but I won’t care.

Jason – Three Floyd’s Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout. The mystery and limited availability of this beer makes it so coveted that it has its own day (the only day on which you can acquire it). Currently, the Old Rasputin from North Coast is my favorite of this style, so I would expect the Dark Lord to dwarf what I think is a very good imperiam stout. I would expect a moderate chocolate witha fruit dessert wine twist, and, according to descriptions, a viscosity and look of “burnt motor oil” (according to the website). Sounds awesome!